Chapter Fourteen

"This way," Harry interrupted, leading us down another corridor. We hadn't made it very far before we heard the sound of fluttering and metal against metal.

"Can you hear something?" Weasley asked as I whipped out my wand.

We stepped into a large room. Though I assumed we were somewhere under the school, the room was still lit up with moonlight that seemed to come out of nowhere. Another enchanted ceiling perhaps. It was a pretty room with lots of rafters and columns, and there were two doors. There was the one we'd just emerged from, and another one across the room.

As the trio discussed what the sound could be, I looked upwards to see a group of flying keys. Before I could cast anything, the trio ran across the room to try to open the other door, which was predictably locked.

I sighed dramatically, and Weasley whirled around to face me.

"It was worth a shot!" he yelled.

"Yeah? And what's next? Accio key?"

"Shut up, Ashe. No one asked for your opinion anyway."

"Fine, then I'll go retrieve the stone myself, without telling you my opinion," I responded, walking over to the broom sticks on the other side of the room.

"But first…Immobulus!" I shouted as a blue light shot out of my wand, freezing the keys in midair.

Without the hundreds of keys fluttering around, it was much easier to spot the one we needed. However, before I could even touch the broom, Harry seized it and rode up to grab the key. Zooming back down, he handed it to Weasley, who ran to unlock the door with it. The whole process had taken about ten seconds.

The click of the lock turning echoed around the room as Harry landed and put back the broom. We hurried into the next room, beginning to worry that we'd be too late to rescue the stone.

The next room was initially pitch-dark, but as the four of us filtered into it, light suddenly flooded the area. There were torches that lit suddenly, lining the walls. The floor was covered in black and white tiles, and this room had two doors as well. The other was on the opposite side of the room, past a bunch of tall statues that looked like…like wizard's chess pieces.

"Now what do we do?" Harry asked.

"It's obvious isn't it?" Weasley answered, "We've got to play our way across the room."

"How?" Hermione replied.

"I think we're gonna have to be the chessmen."

Weasley walked over to the knight piece and climbed up on it.

"Do we-er-have to join you to get across?" he asked the porcelain horse, which nodded.

Though I should have assumed there was something magical about the giant game board, I was still taken aback when the statues, which looked very stationary, moved.

Weasley quietly looked at the board, deciding which pieces we should take the place of.

"Well, Harry, you can take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you go next to him instead of that castle."

"What about me?" I asked.

"You can be a pawn."

"Dammit, Weasley," I nearly yelled, "We both know the pawns are the most dispensable pieces in the game!"

"Fine! You can be the queen, but get ready because I'll be using you a lot."

"Fine," I spat, moving to take the place of the queen.

"Now," he began, "white always goes first in chess."

As if on cue, the opposing team began to move one of their white pieces two spaces across the board. After that, the game passed in a blur. I was pleased that Weasley didn't make any moves that I wouldn't have myself, but I was still unsettled at him ordering me around. Once the board was outlined with black and white rubble, Weasley and I saw the only move that would give us our victory.

"Ashe, if you take that castle out of the way, I can sacrifice myself so that Harry can take the king."

"No!" yelled Harry and Hermione in unison.

"That's chess!" he shouted back, "You've got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward once that castle is gone, and she'll take me. That leaves you free to check the king, Harry."

"But-," Harry began.

"Ashe, take the castle," Weasley told me before Harry could finish his thought. I slowly and hesitantly walked towards it. I didn't like Weasley at all, but I didn't want him to get seriously injured…or worse. Not that he would have had any trouble if our roles were reversed.

When I was in the right space, the castle slid over to the perimeter of the board and crumbled.

"Alright," Weasley sighed, "Ready? Here I go…now, don't hang around once you've won."

I felt butterflies in my stomach and my palms go sweaty, but I watched as he crossed the board to the queen. Then she drew her sword and stabbed Weasley's horse. With a scream, he fell to the ground in front of me. I gasped as he hit the floor, but it looked like he was only unconscious. I turned back around as Harry crossed the board to the king.

"Checkmate," he said confidently right before the chess piece took off his crown and threw it at Harry's feet.

The game had been won, which meant we were able to move around freely. Both Hermione and Harry ran over to Weasley and I.

"What if he's…?" Hermione began to ask.

"He'll be fine," assured Harry, "Take him back up to the hospital wing. Ashe and I will go on."

"Me?" I asked in surprise. If he was telling his friends to leave, I would have assumed he wouldn't want me to stick with him.

"Yes, you," he replied, "You've proven to me that I can trust you to have my back if anything goes wrong. But I also know that you'll do what needs to be done no matter what. You don't let any emotions get in the way."

I thought this was a funny thing to say, considering my actions were mostly controlled by emotions. How had I even gotten Harry to trust me? By letting my emotions get too much in the way. But I knew what he meant.

I wasn't as close to him as Hermione or Weasley were. If I needed to leave him, or do something that might result in him getting injured, I would if it was what was needed. Hermione and Weasley would never even dream of it.

"Aww, how sweet," I said mockingly, but my voice had lowered slightly with emotion. There was no telling him, but his words had actually touched me. I was secretly moved by the mere fact that he trusted me to both have his back and to help him succeed with his mission.

"Harry's right, Raven," Hermione jumped in, "You're very protective, but you're also very brave. You have a good heart, but a strong heart. It's actually quite a wonder you're not a Gryffindor."

I didn't tell them I would have been if I hadn't chose to be with Draco.

"Alright, Harry. Let's go."

"I'll see you soon…I hope," Harry told Hermione, but I was already halfway across the room.

"Be careful, you two!" Hermione called after us.

Then Harry and I were gone.